A Merry Little Christmas
by Crazee Pyro
Summary: Christmas is a hectic time to deal with, especially if the person you like the least insists on spending it within 50 feet of you. Will Hiniku and Tala be able to stand each other long enough to at least have an enjoyable holiday with their friends?


**Happy Holidays, everyone!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade, but I do own Saitori and the rickety ladder. **_**Twin Psychos**_** owns Tenshi and Kaze. **_**Invisible Love**_** owns Hiniku and Sakura. I also don't own the song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". I don't know who it really belongs to, on account of there being so many different versions. But whomever it does belong to, I give you credit.**

* * *

**A Merry Little Christmas**

"NO! Now it's too far to the right!" Hiniku yelled yet again.

"Make up your mind, Hiniku! I've been up her for fifteen minutes, and you're telling me that it's still not straight?" Saitori sighed. She didn't have her normal pocket-clad shorts on, but wore black pants and shoes. She had on a black hoodie with a single red flame on the back. Her curly, dark-brown hair hung to her shoulders.

"Yes. How hard is it to hang tinsel in the middle of the wall?" Hiniku questioned sarcastically. The shorter teen wore her navy V-neck and gray cami. Her jeans were light blue and her fire-highlighted hair was pulled into two low ponytails.

"You're not the one up here, trying not to fall off of a rickety ladder." Saitori retorted.

A girl with silver highlights in her dark hair walked in. "How's the tinsel going?" Kaze had on her dark jacket with the storm cloud emblem on her left side, and black jeans.

"Perfect, except Saitori won't put them up properly." Hiniku expressed, shooting a teasing glare up to her friend.

"You try keeping your balance on this thing." Saitori said as Tenshi walked in.

"I feel your pain. Last time they forced me up there, I ended up almost clinging to the windowsill for dear life. The ladder collapsed! I honestly don't see why we still have the thing." Tenshi was wearing a sky blue long-sleeve under a white vest, while wearing simple jeans. Her chestnut-brown hair fell neatly, slightly past her shoulders while her icy-blue bangs framed her face. Kaze chuckled just as Sakura entered the room.

"Only this year, you're working the outside stuff. Let's hope you don't trip over a shovel or something." Sakura teased. Her purple shirt was still worn with only one sleeve off the shoulder, but now a black long-sleeve was under it due to the cold months. She had on jeans with chains hanging innocently from the belt loops. Her oak hair hung down.

"I don't think so, Saku. I picked up all the shovels outside, and put them away. No tripping will take place, this year." Tenshi declared proudly.

"I hope not. Christmas should be spent in a nice, warm home, not in a hospital." Kaze grinned.

"Tyson may end up in the hospital on account of eating too much food." Hiniku shook her head as Saitori reached once more to place the tinsel correctly. "By the way, when are the Bladebreakers supposed to arrive?"

At that very second, the doorbell rang. They all froze. In that same second, the four on solid ground flew from the room. "They're here!" Sakura's voice rang out as the four jetted to the front door. As soon as Kaze's hand left the ladder from where she'd been supporting Saitori, the old ladder began to creak…and fell backwards. "AAAAAHHH!" and a crash was all that was heard as the four girls whipped open the door.

"Hallelujah, you answered. Can we come in now?" Tyson shivered as he didn't wait for an answer, but barged his way inside.

"Tyson, be nice. At least say 'hi' or 'thanks for inviting us'." Max shook his head, but grinned at the girls.

"Come on in, you've all got to be freezing out there." Tenshi welcomed the group of Bladebreakers indoors.

"You're right about that." Rei said as he accepted the offer and came right inside.

Sakura grinned up at him. "Merry Christmas, Rei," then she pointed to the stairs leading to the upper floor. "For rooms, boys are in the left wing, and girls are in the right. I'll take one of your bags for you."

Kaze looked at Max. "Your nose is red," she commented as the boy pulled his hat off.

"It's freezing outside. I heard on the radio, on our way here from the airport, that it's going to snow a few inches overnight." Max replied.

"You're probably right. We may have a white Christmas." Tenshi said as Kai nodded slightly.

Hiniku looked outside into the cold evening, and thinking that everyone was inside, she began to shut the door. The brisk, nipping wind blew in her face, making her shiver. Suddenly, she gasped as a tall familiar redhead appeared out of nowhere. He had on a black and orange snow outfit that made you feel warm just looking at it. But what caught Hiniku off guard was the icy, unwavering, dark-blue gaze as he looked down at her, the wind whooshing through his red spikes. Hiniku's face grew dark red and her eyes suddenly narrowed. She slammed the door in the guy's face and turned to her friends, shoulders rigid. "All right. Who invited him?" she glared angrily at the girls.

"Who invited who?" Kaze asked, confused.

"Who invited that creep standing on our doorstep?" Hiniku continued, not missing a beat.

"Tala." Kai said in a monotone. The angered teen nodded. Kai rolled his eyes. "He must've decided to come after all. He claimed that Russia was too boring during the winter."

"And our house would liven things up for him?! The guy barely cracks a smile, let alone enjoys himself once in a while." Hiniku ranted on.

Max looked at her. "What do you have against Tala?"

Hiniku's eyes narrowed once more. "He. Called. Me. Short." she answered, darkly. This rose a round of small laughter among the girls.

"Go ahead and leave him out there. He'll give up eventually." Kai walked upstairs to set his bags down.

Hiniku let out a sigh and treaded toward the living room, a satisfied look on her face. "For once, I agree with you." The group left in the house's lobby looked at each other, then Sakura snickered and reached to open the front door again.

"Tal-" Tenshi began, but stopped as a cold rush of air whipped by her, "accidentally" knocking Tyson aside.

"Where is she?" the redhead demanded, an edge to his voice as he stalked into the living room.

Hiniku came to Saitori's side. Her dazed friend was flat on her back, looking up, the creaky, old ladder on top of her. She was still clutching the tinsel. As Hiniku started to lift the ladder from off of Saitori, she heard the familiar cold voice and footsteps stomping closer. She turned swiftly, a glint in her eye as she looked up at Tala. At the same time, the two pointed at each other and exclaimed, "YOU!" In her haste, Hiniku dropped the ladder…right back on Saitori who was just sitting up. But just as it collided again into the teen, a hand reached out and caught it. Rei's hand to be exact.

Tala spoke first. "You left me out in the cold. What kind of host are you?"

"Hey, You're the one who made fun of my height, before. You weren't even invited!" Hiniku retorted.

"You are short." Tala said, ignoring her last comment.

"Maybe, compared to you. But for your information, Tala, I'm now considered average. You're just freakishly tall! Look at those spikes! They make you what, five inches taller than you really are?" She stood on her tiptoes to reach the top of his head. Suddenly, Tenshi and Sakura appeared on either side of the two.

"AAAWWW!" they cooed in unison.

"Shuddup." Hiniku said back, not breaking her glare at Tala. Kaze chuckled and helped Saitori up from the floor. Rei agilely climbed the ladder and placed the tinsel in the very center of the wall above the window.

Saitori sweatdropped. "That's the very same place I put it first, and Hiniku said it wasn't straight."

"She does that a lot." Kaze said so that Hiniku couldn't hear.

Tala didn't pay attention to the others, but his eyes continued to bear down upon Hiniku's. "Look, I didn't come here to get my hair made fun of. And who are you to talk about height?" Just as Hiniku opened her mouth to say something back, Tala scowled, cutting her off. He reached up and pulled her hand down from above his head and held it between the two of them for a moment. "This argument is over." He let her hand go, swiftly walking from the room and up the stairs.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Tala looked to the left, bags in hand. Suddenly, he heard a sound from the left. Turning, he saw Kai emerge from the farthest room down. Immediately, the redhead stiffened. Though he was the captain of the team both were on, there was something about Kai that required a level of respect. The teen walked toward Tala, crimson eyes shining in the hallway's dimming light.

"They decided to let you in, huh." It was more of a statement than a question directed at his team captain.

"Obviously." Tala answered under his breath. Kai looked down the stairs at the empty lobby, listening to the sounds from below. Suddenly, he turned his head back to Tala, eyes flashing.

"Why are you here, Tala?"

The redhead looked directly at him. "I told you, before. Russia is boring. All there is is snow, maybe a few good blading spots, and more snow. I needed a change of scenery. Is there something wrong with that?" Tala glared at him, equally as harshly. That was the problem with Kai. He never gave up. Stubborn Russians.

"No." Kai answered, though his face didn't show any change.

Tala shook his head. "I don't see why you treat me like this, Kai. I let you become one of the Blitzkrieg Boys when you came to me, wanting to prove to yourself that you were better than the 'World Champion'. I didn't give you a hard time about it, did I? Now you're all defiant and protective against me spending one holiday in the same house as you. What's your problem?" Tala growled, taking a menacing step toward the teen.

Kai's eyes flare. "You are. I might be able to handle your smart remarks, but," he paused as he heard Tenshi's laughter from downstairs. "You'd better not do anything to ruin this holiday for these girls." He took an equally threatening step toward his team captain. Lightning sparked the air between their two glares as footsteps from below paused at the base of the stairs.

"Kai?" Tenshi asked hesitantly, sensing the fierceness between the two above her. Kai's face softened a degree, but he still held his glower.

He walked forward, brushing past Tala. "You came here without an invitation, and you can surely be kicked out." Kai said it so that only his teammate could hear. Then with one last flash of crimson, he swiftly paced down the stairs to meet Tenshi.

Tala stared straight ahead as the two walked back into the living room to join the rest of the group. He scowled as he replayed Kai's last sentence in his head. If it'd been anyone else who'd dare to say that to his face, he might've punched him straight through a wall. But it wasn't anyone else. It was Kai. What was it about him that kept anyone from doing anything to him? Tala stalked silently into the nearest room on the left side of the house. _If they don't want me here, why trouble them? The rest of my team at home needs to be whipped in shape for our tournament. Why'd I even come here? What a waste of money. Good thing I bought the roundtrip plane tickets._ He set his bags down and closed the door behind him, trying to plan a time for escape.

…

As Tenshi walked back into the living room with Kai at her side, she glanced back at the base of the stairs, a questioning look in her eye. "Kai? What happened back there? You guys didn't look very pleased at one another."

Kai met her gaze. "Don't worry about it. Sometimes, teammates don't get along with each other. It's fine." But a foreign look entered his eye. "Do you want Tala in your house? He's not exactly the nicest person in the world. I would know."

Tenshi smiled. "The more the merrier, I always say. Christmas should be a time when friends are together. It's a time to be-"

"HAPPY? How can I be happy when some mocking, die-hard beyblader is lodging in our house this very minute?!" Hiniku shouted at Saitori who'd just tried to say her favorite phrase in hope of lightening the mood in the living room. Shrinking away from her now red-faced friend, Saitori passed the baton to Sakura to calm Hiniku.

"Hiniku, Tala's not that bad of a guy once you get to know him." Max tried.

"And he called you short, so what? I've called you short at least once in the past." Sakura insisted. Rei looked at the tinsel above the window proudly as he climbed down from the ladder.

Tenshi stuck her head in the living room, realizing that now was the time to intervene. Looking around, she spotted the box of 10,000 Christmas lights that Kaze had purchased just the night before. Grabbing the box, she jumped into the middle of the room and held it up for all to see. "Who's up for some decorating?"

Saitori looked at her friend, confused. "But we already decorated the Christmas tree."

Tenshi shook her head. "Not the tree…I mean the entire outside of the house!"

"Why not?" Kaze agreed.

So with a round of approval, the group of teens gathered their coats and hats, and headed outside. They unloaded boxes of lights, figures, and other decorations.

Tyson and Max were sent up the ladder to reach the roof. Rei tossed one end of the lights up to the boys and they got to work. First, they laced them across the gutter and along all the sides of the house.

"Tyson, you just stepped on my foot. Be careful." Max said, a cloud of air leaving his mouth.

"Sorry." Tyson replied as he pulled at the string of lights. "Keep 'em coming, Rei. We're almost out, up here." Rei attached the lights to another line, making the string longer.

"All clear," he called up the teens as the lights once again began to be pulled.

On the ground, the girls tried to get the reindeer out of their respective boxes. Kai searched for the extension cord to plug into the house. Hiniku, now calming down a bit, got an animated look in her eye.

"Rudolf should stand right here, and Santa's sleigh should be over here." Hiniku said as Kaze followed her around, placing the models in their specified areas. Tenshi and Sakura set up a small nativity scene near the house, as Saitori tried to connect all of the cables to the many outlets on the house she didn't even know were there.

Twice, Hiniku looked at the lit window upstairs where Tala was apparently staying in. She wondered why he wouldn't come down and help. Nothing got people in the spirit of Christmas more than being with those around them. But shrugging, she continued pointing to where she thought would be the best places for the lawn decorations, and Kaze continued placing them there.

Finally, the lights and decorations were all set, and the group of teens stared up at the darkened house proudly. Tenshi grinned. "Guys, I think we've just set a record. We may be the first people to ever decorate an entire house at 9:00pm, in the pitch dark of winter."

"Whoo! Yeah, you know we rock." Sakura slapped high fives with Kaze.

"And on that note, it's way past my dinner time. Do we have anything to eat, at this very second?" Tyson complained. They all looked at Rei, expectantly.

"What?" he asked.

After stuffing the empty Christmas boxes in the garage, the teens were inside, shuffling Rei into the kitchen, begging him to perform a five-minute-miracle-dinner. They all agreed to turn on the lights outside after the meal. So Rei got to work, searching for ingredients for the group's dinner, and the rest of the teens set the table waited.

…

If there was one thing about Tala, he always seemed to have the worst case of jetlag. So traveling her from Russia took a huge toll on his body. After he was done sulking and sleeping off some of his tiredness, he got ready to go downstairs for dinner. Some idiot down there decided it was a good idea to ring a cowbell to let everyone know that the meal was ready. It woke him up, so he wasn't in the best of moods.

Tala silently walked down the stairs and took his place at the table, right in between Tyson and Hiniku. The late night dinner was well prepared and eaten quickly. At one point, he stared disgustedly at Tyson downing everything in sight with gulps and burps. _His stomach is like a bottomless pit._

Three times throughout the dinner, Tala caught the fiery gaze of Kai, sitting diagonally from him across the table. It looked as if he were about to say, "You know what I said. Don't try anything." It was unnerving, and Tala tried to avoid his look.

Hiniku still seemed to be annoyed and even ticked at his presence. She sat on the opposite side of her chair, leaning away from him, subconsciously.

The ret of the table seemed happy and in the spirit of the season. Sakura and Rei talked excitedly about the approaching now. Kaze told Max about how long in took to decorate the large Christmas tree in their living room. Tyson continued to eat. Saitori and Hiniku chatted about Christmas carols. Tenshi brought the dessert to the table with Kai's help. The only one that really even tried to talk to the red-haired teen was Saitori. Even at that, it was a one-worded sentence. "Cookie?" the curly-haired girl asked hesitantly, passing the plate in front of Hiniku who refused to even look directly at Tala. Silently, Tala accepted the plate, but passed it over to the eager Tyson, without a word.

After the table cleared, the teens bundled up in coats and headed out to the front yard to turn on the Christmas lights for the first time. Sakura fumbled with the two cords and couldn't figure out how to connect them. Rei came over and guided her hands until, finally, the cords meshed and the entire house lit with brilliant red, green and white. A round of 'ohhs' and 'ahhs' echoed throughout the group. And just as soon as they were on, they were off. Suddenly, the house plunged into pitch-black darkness.

"Um…" Hiniku broke the speechless silence. They all piled back into the house, grabbing flashlights and candles for the temporary power outage.

"We must have blown a fuse." Ax said as he walked down to the basement to find the power box. Kaze followed with a flashlight.

The rest of them sat in the living room. No electricity meant no heat. No heat meant a huge need for blankets. Kai offered Tenshi a part of his scarf as Saitori tried lighting a fire in the fireplace. The only sound heard was Tyson chomping down on a bag of chips as Sakura stepped closer to Rei, a shiver tremoring down her spine.

In the basement, Max and Kaze searched high and low for the box of power switches. Finally, Kaze shined the flashlight right on the searched for box. Max got down, in front of it, and rubbed his hands together. He pulled out a whopping toolbox and got to work, banging on stuff and switching levers.

_Upstairs_

"Ew! A bug just crawled over my foot! A BIG BUG! My foot may become infected!" Hiniku wailed. In the doorway of the living room, Tala watched the group. Everyone seemed happy despite the power outage. But, no one seemed to notice him. Taking one last look at the spazzed Hiniku, he silently left the room and headed upstairs.

It was just like back at home. He didn't have a family there to celebrate the holidays with. He guessed this year would be no different than all the rest. Silently, he closed the door to his room behind his as he collapsed onto his futon, hoping no one would assign Tyson to be his roommate.

…

Tala's with did not come true. The redhead stared up at the ceiling and cringed at the horrific noise of Tyson sucking in a huge breath, then letting all of it out with loud, repeated snores. Not being able to stand it anymore, Tala sat up and shoved his own pillow over Tyson's face, barely covering the navy-haired boy's wide open mouth. At least it muffled the sound a bit. Tyson didn't even stir. Tala stood and cracked open the curtain.

As he stared into the dark, late night, he noticed small, white snowflakes beginning to fall. Great. He left Russia to get a change of scenery. Now it turned out that he'd be looking at the same fluffy, white stuff when he stepped outside. It he was going to leave before the airlines stopped their flights because of the storm, he needed to go now, before the real snowfall hit. Looking at his watch, he grabbed his suitcases that he hadn't even bothered to unpack, and left the room. Heading silently down the stairs, he hoped that no one was still awake.

Reaching the front door, Tala's hand paused on the knob as he noticed a light, or rather, a few lights on the in the living room. He sneaked to the entrance of the room and peered into it. Hiniku sat on the couch, serenely watching the blinking white lights of the Christmas tree. His gaze rested upon her face lit gently in the lights. This was the first time he'd ever seen her this calm. He was beginning to wonder if she could ever stay calm for a minute at a time.

"AAAHHH!" she suddenly whispered loudly. Nope. All of a sudden, the petite teen leaped from her seat and ran around the tree three times, checking the lights to make sure they were all working, pausing a few times at the stubborn ones. Finally satisfied at her work, Hiniku thumped back to her seat on the couch.

He shook his head and stepped from his hiding place. "Hin-"

Hiniku jumped up, eyes widened out of surprise. "AAAAHHH-" Tala clapped a hand over her screaming mouth.

"Is something wrong with you?" he asked, annoyed at her sudden outburst that just might've awakened the entire house. Hiniku glared up at him, unable to answer with her mouth covered. Tala glanced around, listening for anything that would signal that someone was awake. Finding none, he let out a sigh and dropped his hand.

"Is something wrong with me? What are you talking about?! Something's wrong with you! What do you think you're doing, sneaking up on me like that?! I thought everyone was asleep! Are you nocturnal or something? Is that something Russians are, too? Well? Answer my qu-" Hiniku got cut off yet again by Tala's pale hand.

"Shut UP! I swear, are you on medication or something? Is there ever a calm moment in your life?" Tala's dark blue eyes glared down at her. Pulling away, Hiniku glared back.

"And just why do you happen to be up, spying on me from around the corner in my own house?! I'm not going to feel safe for a long time." Hiniku whispered furiously. "Why are you down here at this hou-" Suddenly, Hiniku saw what was in Tala's other hand. She looked up at him, her look changed to a puzzled, shocked gaze. "Tala? Why're you carrying suitcases?"

The redhead mentally smacked his forehead. Just what he needed-a witness. He sighed and looked at her boredly. "Why would you carry around suitcases, Hiniku?"

"You aren't leaving, are you?" she asked, her dark brown gaze searching his. Tala didn't answer. He dropped to the couch with another sigh. Taking this as an answer, she sat also. "Was it something I said?" she persisted. Tala didn't meet her gaze, but stared forward. Not giving up, Hiniku looked down, her brow furrowed. "Well, will you at least be able to celebrate the holiday when you leave? Is there anyone to celebrate with?"

His dark blue eyes dull slightly at her question. Suddenly, he shook his head and the hard look returned as he finally looked at her. "Don't go fretting about me, Hiniku. I can take care of myself. Holidays lose their pizzazz after a while, anyway. You guys have each other here, where I'm obviously not invited. Besides," he stood and gathered his bags, looking at his watch. "I've missed a day of practice, and most of my team is back at home waiting for me to return." He gazed down at the still seated Hiniku. Her eyes were filled with disappointment. Tala sighed and patted her head. "Don't trouble yourself with my boring life. So much stress on such a little person isn't healthy." He took his hand away and headed toward the door, bags in hand. Suddenly, he felt a hand grab his arm.

"Wait," the girl said. Turning back, Tala saw Hiniku looking down, small tears glistening in the corners of her eyes. "I know you and I didn't exactly get off to a good start earlier. But maybe…" Hiniku looked up at him, resolve in her eyes. "Maybe we could start over. You don't seem like a bad person. Maybe I judged you a little too early. Just please don't go. I don't know what it's like to spend Christmas all by myself, and I don't ever want to know. No one should have to spend Christmas alone."

Tala looked down at her, surprised. He'd never had a family to celebrate the holidays with. He didn't really even know what a real holiday was like. Sure he'd seen the picture-perfect family and dinner on TV before. Everyone knew that was fake. But here in the living room of five girls, one of them staring up at him with pleading eyes, it actually seemed kind of appealing. Hiniku was saying she'd give him a second chance and help him not feel like such an outsider. This could be the first time anyone had ever taken the time to reach out to him. And it sure beat taking off in a snowstorm in the middle of the night. Maybe…just maybe, he could give Hiniku another chance.

Looking down at the shorter girl, he smirked slightly, eyes softening just a bit. "Does this mean I'm officially invited?"

Hiniku's eyes lit up and she threw her arms around the redhead. "Yes!" she whispered as loudly as she could, the joy apparent in her voice.

"You can let go now, Hiniku. I want to be alive when morning hits." Tala exaggerated as Hiniku finally broke her tight hold around him. Sighing, he set his suitcases down. Finally, he'd be able to relax during the holiday season.

WHAM!

Tala barely flinched as a fist slammed into his right arm. Turning to face Hiniku with an annoyed look in his eye, he saw that her face was suddenly different than before. She stared up at him through glaring eyes. After a moment of a stare-down between the two, Tala finally spoke. "May I ask why you just punched me?" He scowled as he reached to rub his arm.

"That was for almost leaving." Hiniku glared up at him. "And for making me almost cry back there."

"Really. I thought it was kind of funny." Tala smirked. Hiniku pulled her arm back to punch him yet again, but Tala caught her fist this time. He held it there for a moment, then opened his hand to reveal hers. "Your hand must hurt."

Hiniku's façade crumbled and she nodded silently, holding her hand tightly in her own.

"Sit down," he commanded as he left the room. Obediently, Hiniku sat, staring at the flashing Christmas lights. When Tala came back, an icepack in one hand, he was surprised to see the teen fast asleep, leaning delicately on the back of the couch. Silently, he sat, watching her peaceful face, then looked down at her hurt hand. Good. No swelling. That was a good sign-she didn't break anything. Hopefully, that should teach her not to go around, punching over-achiever beybladers in the arm. He grabbed the blanket folded over the back of the couch and draped it over the sleeping Hiniku. Then finally, he looked up at the Christmas tree.

…

_Have yourself a merry little Christmas, Let your heart be light_

The next morning, Tenshi yawned and stretched. She saw up and squinted in the morning light pouring through her bedroom window. For some reason, it seemed to be brighter than usual. All of a sudden, it hit her. It was Christmas Eve. Leaping out of bed, she threw her curtains open and ran a hand through her hair, somewhat fixing it. Grabbing an outfit thrown over her chair, and hurriedly putting it on, she raced into the hallway. There was a lot to do today.

As she descended down the stairs, she realized that she was the first one up after not hearing any sounds throughout the house. Going straight to the kitchen, she looked through the cupboards, finally pulling out a large box of oatmeal. Tenshi filled a pot of water then set it on the stove to heat up.

She turned to get the loaf of bread for toast, and saw…red spikes sticking up over the back of the couch. Tenshi stopped, then quietly crept over to the living room, her brown eyes not leaving the spikes. Eyes widened almost out of her sockets, she rounded the couch to see…Hiniku curled up on one side, and Tala with his arms folded on the opposite side. Both were fast asleep. Tenshi stared at the two, confusion in her eyes. Weren't these two like oil and water, yesterday? They couldn't stand each other. So what was this about?

Glancing around, Tenshi spotted Saitori's camera on the TV stand. She smirked and grabbed it, thinking, "I'll have to thank Sai-chan for leaving her camera unattended for once." Tenshi then quickly napped a picture of the two, then slipped the camera in her pocket with one last smirk. As soon as she returned to the kitchen, she head Hiniku begin to stir. Pretending to be occupied, Tenshi continued to pop bread into the toaster without turning around to greet her friend.

"Oh, CRAP! I'm wearing the same clothes as yesterday!" Hiniku exclaimed as she raced up the stairs. Her footsteps awakened the sleeping Tala. Blinking, he stood and looked around the living room, confused. Picking up his suitcases, he headed upstairs.

_Heheh, they're clueless._ Tenshi thought with a snicker as she patted the camera in her pocket.

"Tenshi, why are you cackling evilly to yourself? What are you up to?" Kai joined the blue-banged teen in the kitchen, an amused look on his face.

Tenshi gave the teen a toothy smirk. "Oh, you'll find out, eventually."

He gave her a wary look, then turned to look out the window. "…It snowed." The next thing Kai knew was Tenshi's face pressed up against the window, eyes widened in delight. After a few seconds, she turned back to the toaster.

"We're spending the whole day outside, aren't we?" Kai concluded, watching her overly happy face. Suddenly, Tenshi stopped stirring the oatmeal and cocked her head to the side, listening to the upstairs' noises. Silence was all that was heard…until a loud yawn sounded and lazy footsteps began sauntered around. Kai glanced down at Tenshi with a questioning brow.

The blue-banged girl held a finger to her lips and she smiled, a concentrated look in her eye. "Wait for it…and-"

"OH MY GOSH! IT'S SNOWING!!" Tyson's loud mouth awakened everyone inside the house…and probably everyone in the neighboring houses, as well. Kai's eyebrows raised on account of Tyson being up this early-if 10:00 could be counted as early. And especially him not having to be forced awake-now that deserved a standing ovation. Tenshi nodded knowingly as almost immediately the upstairs floor was in chaos as everyone raced for the nearest window to stare out at the deep snowfall.

_From now on our troubles will be out of sight_

"Look at how deep it is!" Max exclaimed.

"It's gotta be at least 9 inches." Sakura affirmed in amazement.

"Let's make a snowman!" Saitori excitedly said.

"I vote for sledding." Rei chimed in.

"Snowball fight." Hiniku thought aloud.

Tala emerged from his room and stared at the group in disbelief. Rolling his eyes, he walked to the bathroom with a grunt.

"Someone's not in a good mood, this morning." Kaze inferred. Suddenly, a waft of air made its way up to the teens' noses. Something good. Something like…oatmeal.

A loud rumbling noise echoed inside Tyson's stomach. "I'mstarving," he emphasized.

"We won't be able to go outside and last for long if we don't eat breakfast." Rei agreed.

"Right, we need our nutrients." Saitori input.

"Then what're we waiting for? Let's get this day started!" And with that, the group dispersed in a flash, running to find their warmest clothes.

Tenshi's eyes widened as she heard a literal stampede of teenagers racing down the stairs toward the kitchen. Hurriedly, she thrust a stack of bowels and spoons at Kai to set on the table. As soon as the last piece of silverware was down, the group of guys and girls flooded into the room.

_I guess they're hungry._ Tenshi thought as she watched them all sit immediately and begin literally shoveling the oaty-goodness into their mouths. _Either that, or they can't wait to get outside._ It turned out to be the latter sentence, because after that, the whole day seemed to be about snow, or rather, chaos.

Tenshi ate, standing up in the kitchen, to monitor the toaster. Every two minutes, when the bread popped out of the machine, she swiped it in midair and threw each slice to the table, shuriken-style. Everyone seemed to know when their toast was ready. So with their heads bent over their bowels, each teen used their free hand to reach up and catch their bread.

After the table was cleared, the group barreled to the front closet where all their coats, boots, and hats were stored. In the mad rush to get outside, everything seemed to be in a blur. Random hands and arms reached and grabbed in different directions for their belongings.

"I can't find my scarf!"

"Gr, why won't my zipper zip?"

"Gah! I'm drowning in this coat!"

"Is this even mine?"

"You're wearing my boot!"

"Get your hair out of my face!"

"Hn."

"I'm missing a glove!"

"There's a bug in my shoe!"

"Is there any more oatmeal?"

And in the midst of it all, Tala walked down the stairs, looking at the scene of scrambling. "What the-"

"Tala! You're coming outside with us, aren't you?" Saitori asked eagerly as she pulled on her last glove.

"Why?" he asked, lamely.

"Because when it snows, you have to take advantage of the opportunity." Max agreed.

"It may be all gone by tomorrow. You don't want to waste a perfectly good snow." Tenshi claimed.

"Sorry to burst you're guy's bubble, but I don't feel like going outside. I see snow everyday when I step outside in the morning. What's so good about it?" Tala sighed, slightly annoyed at their pestering.

"C'mon, Tala. You could have some fun for a change. This is a holiday." Rei insisted.

"It's Christmas Eve." Tala rolled his eyes.

"Christmas Eve is a holiday." Sakura agreed.

Kaze nodded and grinned. "Yeah. It's the holiday in which you get ready for a holiday."

"Won't you come out with us?" Hiniku asked.

"No." the redhead stated bluntly as he took a step toward the kitchen. But he stopped. This wasn't how friends treat each other. The group let out a round of disappointment as they filed out toward the back door. His eyes scanned over the group, pausing only on Hiniku's crestfallen look and Kai's glare. As if the disappointment on Hiniku's face wasn't enough, he'd somehow managed to make Kai upset again.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Tala finally gave in. "Fine, I'll come." Almost immediately, the mood in the room again lightened. "But I haven't eaten yet. How am I supposed to-" Hiniku snatched a slice of uneaten toast from Tyson and stuck it in Tala's mouth, cutting him off.

She smiled up at him, proudly. "Now come," she demanded and pointed to the backyard covered in white. The group crowded around the open doorway.

"Wait!" Tenshi and Sakura exclaimed, holding their arms out so that the doorway was blocked, temporarily.

"Every year, only one lucky person gets to step in the freshly fallen snowfirst." Sakura told the group.

""So this year, Saku and I have racked our brains to come up with a plan." Tenshi continued.

"Instead of just one of us getting the chance at the wonderful prize of setting foot first outside,"

"We'll all line up and at the same time, race out into the snow." Tenshi finished. "So one the count of three, we go." The five girls immediately got to the edge of the doorway, muscles ready to spring out into the world of white. Tenshi and Sakura counted off.

"One."

"All of this just to walk outside into some snow?" Kai mumbled.

"Girls." Tyson shook his head.

"Tw-"

"ME FIRST!" Hiniku yelled and leaped out into the fluffy, white snow. The others girls raced after her.

_Through the years, we all will be together-If the fates allow_

"That's not fair, Hiniku. We didn't even get to number three yet!" Saitori glared jokingly at her friend.

"So?" Hiniku grinned over her shoulder.

The boys followed outside, closing the door behind them. Max ran to join the girls, laughing along the way.

"Whoa, the snow's so deep that my feet are getting stuck." Kaze gaped.

"Snow-angel time!" Tenshi yelled. At the same time, all of the girls dropped to the ground on their backs, then moving their arms and legs back and forth, they made imprints of angels in the snow. Jumping up, they all admire their work.

"Hey! Who's up for some sledding?" Rei called from behind. The girls look back to see the remaining boys dragging two large sleds behind them. Tyson smirked and suddenly sat on the led that Kai was pulling. Sensing this before he even sat down, Kai let go of the rope he was pulling it with, leaving Tyson behind to pull it to the girls, himself.

"There's a great hill down the street. If we hurry, we could get there before the rest of the town gets the same idea." Sakura pointed out.

"Then let's go!" Max said, excitedly.

"I know where it is!" Kaze exclaimed, jogging off, leading the way down the street. The rest of them followed. But Tala dragged behind.

Hiniku looked at him with a small scowl. "Try to enjoy yourself, Tala." She grabbed his arm and tried to pull him faster.

The group arrived at the hill. Looking around, they realized that they were the first ones there. They had the entire hill to themselves, for now. Tenshi looked down the hill with excitement, then back at the sleds that Tyson and Rei dragged. There were only two sleds, and ten teenagers. That could only mean one thing.

Tenshi looked at the group, eyes lit animatedly. "Who wants some friendly competition?" At once, every hand went up.

"Boys versus girls." Tyson grinned. "You know the boys will win."

"Careful, Tyson." Rei spoke. But it was a little too late. Every girl now had a competitive glint in her eye.

"You want to prove that?" Sakura asked Tyson, determination in her voice.

"Sure." Tyson shrugged, nonchalantly. The boys and girls separate into two different groups.

"OK," Tenshi said when the girls gathered in huddle formation, "We need a person in front who's willing to steer us." Kaze raised her hand. "Good. Now, two in the middle need to call commands to the back people when to turn or duck." Hiniku and Sakura volunteer. Tenshi turned to Saitori. "You and I will be pushing off."

"Right. We need a good running start. So let's begin back there." Saitori points back about five yards.

"Wait!" Hiniku dug something out of her pocket. "We've got to keep in touch out there. Something might happen." She looked over her shoulder at the hill that soon would become a battlefield. "Take these, and only use them if there's an emergency." She tossed a walkie-talkie to every girl.

"Just remember, no matter what happens out there," Sakura looked over at Tyson with a glare, "We've got to prove him wrong."

"Let's win this." Kaze nodded.

"Break." The girls broke the huddle and grabbed a sled, placing it back at their starting line.

"Aren't you guys a little too far back? You really want to give us a head start?" Max asked the girls in disbelief. Their sled was right at the edge of the hill.

"No." Kaze smiled confidently as Hiniku threw five more walkie-talkies to the group of boys.

"May the best team win." Tenshi stated.

"We plan to." Kai said, throwing a joking smirk over his shoulder at the blue-banged teen.

The two groups got on their respective sleds. On the boy's team, Tala was the navigator in front, Tyson and Rei were in the middle, and Kai was pushing off with Max.

"Sure you're not scared?" Tala asked, seemingly liking the competition.

"Let's just start already." Saitori urged.

"All right. On the count of three." Sakura said, gripping the edge of the sled with her gloved hand.

"We're counting on you guys." Saitori told the girls in front.

Kaze grinned. "Don't worry."

"One."

"Don't let us down up there, Tala." Kai said.

"Whatever." Tala replied, but held more tightly to the rope at the front of the sled.

"Two."

"Just like when we raced each other, Sai-chan. Let's run our hardest." Tenshi looked over at her friend. But Saitori was focused intently on the hill. She simply nodded.

"Three."

Tenshi and Saitori grasped the back of the sled, muscles tensed.

"GO!"

Immediately, the two started pushing the sled with all their might. Their legs pumped and feet slid in the snow until finally, it picked up speed. Hiniku and Sakura scooted up so that there was just enough room for the two runners. Jumping on as soon as the sled reached the edge of the hill, Tenshi and Saitori slapped high-fives. The sled lifted off, and for a split second, the girls were flying in midair. Then finally, it touched ground with a gentle thump, snow sailing beside the girls as they picked up speed.

Looking over at the boys' sled, the girls realized that their two extra seconds of pushing made a big difference. Even though the boys started ahead of them, the girls were now leading by about three inches. The boys realized this, too. They all ducked their heads down so that their sled became more arrow-dynamic. This gave them a little bit of a boost.

Kaze knew that now was the time to step it up. She looked forward, steering the sled around rocks and tree stumps that stuck out of the deep snow. Hiniku and Sakura watched over her shoulder to tell Tenshi and Saitori when to lean left or right to turn the sled away from danger.

The two sleds were neck and neck in competition. For a second, the girls would be leading, then Tyson and Rei would start peddling with their hands, and the boys would be back in front.

Tala watched the hill become almost 90 degrees at one point, or maybe just 60 degrees, but he found himself…enjoying it. Enjoying himself. Who knew snow could be this fun? And to think he'd grown up in Russia, where it snowed almost 24-7. Why hadn't he tried this before? It also helped that the group of boys was almost totally in-sync with each other. They could beat these girls.

The girls laughed as they hit a bump and they almost fell off of the sled. This was hilarious! Kaze looked over at the boys. They were behind by almost a full 12 inches, now. As long as they kept this up, the girls would be the victors of the race. They were almost to the bottom of the hill.

Turning back, she gasped. The girls behind her heard this. Their mouths also dropped open. For there in front of them, stood a huge tree. There wasn't enough time to steer away from it. Even if they were to skid to a complete stop, they would still collide with it, someway or another. But maybe…. Kaze glanced back at the group of girls, her eyes full of the let's-go-down-trying look. The girls nodded, reading the plan in their navigator's face.

The girls gripped the edge of the sled, then yanked it sideways, throwing them all off of the side. As they flew off, a tree branch caught them all in the waist. It bent forward for a moment, supporting all of their weight. Then suddenly, it threw them backward into the fluffy, white snow.

The group of boys saw the girls beside them on their sled for one second. But the next second, they'd disappeared. Reaching the bottom of the hill, they searched for the girls' sled. Silently, it rolled down the hill and stopped at the boys' feet. Looking up, they saw the girls sitting in the snow, laughing their heads off. The boys' faces softened. Their smiles were contagious.

Tala watched the girls, intently. This was what the holidays were all about: being with friends and people you love. He knew that he probably wouldn't have figured this out if it weren't for Hiniku. She taught him that even if someone was a pain in the butt, they still deserved to have a good Christmas. He believed that at last, he knew what a friend was. He hoped that someday, he'd be able to repay Hiniku for the small act of kindness she'd shown him. Looking up at her laughing face, he wondered if she even knew how much she'd really done for him.

"Ha! I told you that we'd win!" Tyson chanted as he pointed victoriously at the girls.

"You try dodging a tree at the last moment!" Sakura yelled down the hill.

All of a sudden, the boys were hit with a monstrous wall of snowballs. The boys retaliate and grab a bunch of snow in their gloves, then shape them into snowballs. Throwing them at the girls, they grab the sleds and make a blockade in front of them until they had enough time to build a fort. The girls all jumped away before the snow hit them…except for Hiniku. Her eyes bulge and she threw her arms up to block the snow form hitting her face. It worked, except for the fact that she was almost completely buried in fluffy, white snow.

She stared out at the battle scene before her. Throwing her arms over her eyes made it so that she two eye holes to look out of her snowy coffin. Snowballs flew from all sides of the hill. The girls hid amongst the trees, and the boys had somehow made a sturdy fort in the past minute. But…Hiniku couldn't move. She was trapped. _What if no one notices that I'm missing?! I'll freeze to death! Or worse, some kid will make me into a snow-woman! I've got to get out of here!_ She panicked, then stopped. If she tried too hard to get out by herself, she'd end up sinking into the deep snow below her. Dropping her hands to her sides, with much difficulty, she felt the walkie-talkie in her pocket. She shook her head. She'd taken such precautions to make sure that her friends could call if needed, but hadn't thought that she'd need to call someone, herself.

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the walkie-talkie, then pushed the 'call' button. This would contact everyone. But if anyone could hear the call above all the noise they were making, and crunching of snow below their boots, was another question. Waiting a painstakingly long few seconds, a low, familiar voice finally answered her plea for help.

"What?" the voice answered.

"Tala! Wow, it's so good to hear your voice!" Hiniku said, joyously.

Tala laughed under his breath. "Never thought I'd hear that from you."

"You thought wrong then."

"I thought these things were only to be used for emergencies. What are you calling for?" Tala asked.

Hiniku laughed nervously. "Well, you see, I'm kind of in a predicament at the moment."

"What happened?" he questioned. Hiniku could almost see him shaking his head.

"I'm buried." Silence. "Hello?"

"I'm here." Tala said, the laughing apparent in his voice.

"Don't laugh at me." Hiniku pouted defiantly.

"Sorry." Tala paused. "Where are you?"

"See that snow-zombie looking thing on the hill?" Hiniku asked. "That's me."

Tala snickered. "I'm coming."

A few seconds later, Hiniku saw Tala trekking up the hill toward her, chuckling quietly. He bent down in front of her, looking through her eyeholes in the snow in disbelief. Shaking his head, he began brushing the snow off of the girl. Soon, Hiniku had emerged from her snowy coffin.

"I live!" she exclaimed and took a step forward. That one step was a bad choice. She began sinking down until her whole knee was eventually buried. She looked up at Tala with widened eyes. "Um…help?" He smirked, but swiftly lifted her from the hole in the snow, then gently place her on his back, piggyback-style.

"You're a magnet for danger," he said. As Hiniku opened her mouth in protest, a snowball hit her in the face.

"Ok, I think I'm done with snow for a while," she sighed in defeat as the snow slipped off of her face. She latched her arms around his neck, using him as a shield against another snowball headed her way.

"I've had enough snow to fill a lifetime." Tala mumbled as he began to walk back to the girls' house.

Hiniku sighed, resting her chin on his shoulder. "I want some hot chocolate," she said to herself.

Looking down, Tala thought about the two days he'd been here at the girls' house. He needed to take breaks from beyblading more often. "Thank you, Hiniku."

Lifting her head, Hiniku looked at his face, questioningly. "For what? I should be thanking you. Without you, I'd still be stuck back there in Mr. Snowzombie."

"Thank you for letting me spend the holiday with you and your friends."

Hiniku tilted her head to the side. "Is that all?" She grinned when he nodded. "Your welcome, then."

"And we did win fair and square." Tala smirked and looked up at her. "That tree was working in our favor."

"Sure, you did. Just keep telling yourself that." Hiniku replied with a smirk. "You know we would've won."

Tala shook his head and smiled to himself. He knew, deep down, that the girls would've won. He also knew that he'd made a friend-hopefully a lifelong one. And someday, he would repay her for her kindness._Thank you, Hiniku._

_And have yourself a merry little Christmas, now._

* * *

**Take time, this holiday season, to thank your family and friends for all that they do. They definitely deserve it. Remember that Christmas is a time to celebrate Christ's birth. Carry the spirit of the season around with you throughout the year.**

**Thanks to my friend, Hiniku, for her constant "support" and for putting up with my present tense-ified rough draft. This chapter wouldn't have been as good if it wasn't for her. Thank you, also, for giving me ideas and playing inspiring music. "You're my shining star". XD**

**Merry Christmas!**


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